Tag Archives: 1:1 Scale

Lifesize props that will have you asking “Is it LEGO?”

An Orchid for Spring

Easter is here! For many of us, that means we are bouncing right into spring; one hop closer to summer! Alongside all the festive bunnies and eggs, we’re beginning to see flowers poke their heads out to say hello to a new world. One of the most beautiful and delicate groups of flowers are those we love to have inside our homes: the Orchids. In addition to bringing life and happiness to a room, they can be a lovely conversation starter! White orchids, for example, are a symbol of innocence, purity, and elegance. And now James zhan has engineered one that isn’t even high-maintanence! He used some incredibly clever building techniques to create this gorgeous plant.

Click to see more photos of this work of art!

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Take a second look at this display screen — it’s actually LEGO

Just in case you thought The Brothers Brick has gone into selling electronics, you may want to take a second look, and a close one at that. It’s simply too easy to mistake this monitor for a real one than to believe it’s all made of bricks and bits at a quick glance. Timofey Tkachev is one builder that never ceases to enthrall me with his flexible skills as he builds in a variety of subjects and themes. In case you’re wondering what’s that screen on display, its the front page of the Russian Lego User Group that Timofey belongs to, phantoms.su – a loyal member indeed!

Click here to see the reference monitor from which it was modeled after

No secret is safe from the 5PY 8UG!

Unique LEGO creations are great, bringing a new idea or two into the builder community. The latest build by Aaron Newman is one such creation, but the amount of original ideas is just off the charts for a model this size. While we see robot bugs and fully functional transformers every now and again, the whole approach to the concept is completely new with this build. Making the “bug” transform from a translucent egg that then doubles as its wings and the way it was achieved, as well as the bug folding in a logical way within the egg, has many layers of innovativity to it.

The shape of the creature is quite nice, with characteristically bent feet and what appears as a split mandible. There are some neat parts usages like ray guns and goblets used as legs and translucent pyramid pieces that seem perfect for insectoid eyes. I think the most rewarding way to view this creation is trying to understand the way it transforms and consequentialy appreciating the effort put into it.

Classic LEGO duck looks and plays just like the original [Video]

Before LEGO produced plastic bricks, the company had its humble roots in making wooden toys. The wooden duck was first produced in 1935 and is an icon of the early years of LEGO. Jason Allemann has recreated a 1:1 scale of the model, complete with moving mouth when the duck is pulled. Check out more info on the builder’s blog and get access to free instructions to build your own.

Watch the plastic wooden LEGO duck in action in a video

Japanese sushi that looks great and tastes blockish

Fresh from winning the ABS challenge in spectacular fashion, Didier Burtin has created a delicious Ikura maki roll. At sushi restaurants ikura (salmon roe) is always served gunkan-style (battleship.) Besides the rice and the nori (edible seaweed), there are no other embellishments and it is not served with any sauce, although you may brush a little soy sauce (shoyu) on top of the eggs with a small slice of gari (sweet pickled ginger) and the all-important wasabi.

Beautiful brick beasts

These mouse-like creatures look like they came straight out of some sci-fi piece! But in fact, Takamichi Irie modeled them after a real-life family of rodents called Dipodidae. As you can imagine, they are like a cross between a mouse and a kangaroo. Thankfully, it doesn’t take someone who studies animals to recognize the beauty in these little beasts, and best yet, they’re not the only amazing creatures Takamichi has created!

Click to see more incredible creatures

Sharpen your LEGO bricks with class!

I like to see everyday things recreated in LEGO and this one is no exception. The sound of the crank and the aroma of pencil shavings just takes me back to decades of exams and homework. that really seems a lot easier thinking back now. While it’s a perfect representation by Legobyleaves, the way to make it even more awesome is a little modification can be made. Just imagine if the studs drop out only after the crank turns! Remember kids, stay in school as long as you can! Work ain’t fun as you think it may be!

Click to see the pencil sharpener in action

A Stormtrooper’s standard-issue blaster replicated in LEGO

Daryl Ng complements his LEGO Han Solo’s blaster with the classic E-11 blaster rifle seen in the original Star Wars trilogy. His LEGO rendition is true to the props seen on-screen, capturing the Sterling SMG underneath and various sci-fi details. Like his previous blaster build, the E-11 is presented with a display stand featuring a UCS-style specification card.

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Stand a chance against the Xenomorph with a LEGO Motion Tracker

Sometimes I wonder how characters in horror films manage to make the worst decisions. Then I played as far as I could get in the terrifying first-person perspective game Alien: Isolation, and it all makes sense. In the heat of the moment, good decisions are hard to come by, and you don’t always have as much information as you need. For example, the motion tracker, like most of the equipment found in the game, is true to the aesthetic of the Alien film franchise and while incredibly useful, has definite limitations. Nevertheless, it’s a great device, and I decided to replicate this tool with LEGO.

The screen and every light on the in-game model lights up on my LEGO replica. I also had the chance to use a technique I wanted to use in a prop replica for a while now; the coiled wire on the right side of the device was made with a flexible hose and numerous Technic worm gears.

The brickmaster’s violin

Ever wonder what a LEGO violin sounds like? Me neither. This realistic model by Ryan McNaught may not produce the high-quality sounds of a Stradivarius, but it almost looks like the real deal. The distinct shape of the instrument is made possible by curved slope pieces, and the use of the radar dishes for the scroll is incredibly realistic. Even the bow has a bend to it and retained its characteristic pearl eye on the frog. Let’s hear that concerto in brick major!

Hasselblad camera with working features made of LEGO bricks

Builder and photographer Helen Sham built a nostalgic Hasselblad 503CX and made it functional. The only thing it can’t do is take an actual photo (just yet), but it does come with the bells and whistles. This LEGO built camera has parts that can be separated as would the real Hasselblad. It includes a mirror for the viewfinder that will actually give you a reversed image of your frame. There’s a spring-loaded shutter button that gives you a real feeling of releasing the shutter and a running counter, had the camera have actual film in there. I’m more impressed that it only took Helen about 2 hours to put it together with an assortment of 1120 parts.

Click here to peek inside the camera!

Be the coolest kid on the street, 30 years ago

Cassette players scream eighties so loudly that it seems kind of redundant to mark tapes as “80s mix”, but Jarekwally still decided to bring out the nostalgia even more. The builder was inspired by his father’s stories of how they used to pirate music nearly forty years ago with a radio and a tape deck. Cassette players are so iconic, you don’t even need to have 80s nostalgia to be inspired by them.

Jarekwally’s build is not the first time we’ve seen cassette players in LEGO, which kind of makes sense, as tapes are just blocky technical items with a limited variation of texture — which translates into bricks very well. What I love about this particular version is the use of chrome silver around the cassette slot and the underside of a plate as the speaker mesh. Simple indeed, but inspired.

Check out these other LEGO retro audio instruments: